Erhard schlenker



(No Model.)

E. SGHLENKER.

HYDRANT.

No. 346,951. Patented Aug. '10, 1886,

fr-d, sq-/MW NITED STATES ERHARD SCHLENKER, OFBUFFALO, NE\V YORK,ASSGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THE HO\VARD IRON WVORKS, OF SAME PLACE.

HYDRANT.

PEOIFICATION 'forming part of Letters Patent No. 346,951. dated August10, 1886.

Application fil'ed May 12. 1886. Serial No. QOLEQS). (No model.)

To all whom it ma-z/ concernz: Be it k nowu that I, ERHARD SCHLENKER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erieand State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Hydrants'; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it apA Io pertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters orfigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspeeification.

Myinventon consists, first, in the combination,with the hydrantstand-pipe and the casing surrounding same,.of a shell located at thebase of the casing,adapted to convey the waste water from the stand-pipeto the sewer or 2o ground, and to perrnit the Warm gas from the sewer topass around the base .of the hydrant and up into the space between thestand-pipe and its casing,to prevent frcezing; second, in other detailsof construction, all of which will be more fully hereinafter describedand claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical central section of my improvedhydrant complete. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the opening for the 3oadmission of steam. Fig. 3 is a topplan view of the cross-head or guideof the valve. Fig. 4 is an outside view of the head, and Fig. 5 is aside elevation of thesewer-shell.

Referring to the drawings, a is the hydrant stand-pipe with the outleta' to which to attach the hose.

b is the base ofthe hydrant,having the Valvechamber b/,the opening b2 inits side,to which connection is made by the branch pipe lead- 4o ing tothe main and the opening 53 in its top wall, the lower tapering portionb* of Which forms the Valve-seat.

The stand-pipe a is secured to the base b by a series of bolts, c,pivoted at theirlower ends to the base b, their upper endspassingthrough bolt-holes a2 in the annular collar or enlargement aJ ofthe stand-pipe a. The bolts c are ti ghtened in position by the nuts c'.The j unction of the stand-pipe with the base can be 5o made in anywell-known manner to prevent leakage at that point.

Around the sta-ndpipe a is placed the cylindrical casing or frost-shclld, the lower end of which rests upon the base b, its upper endproject-ing several inches above the street line, as shown in thedrawings, to prevent the admission of water. The diameter of the casingor frost-shell is sufficiently large to form an anuular space, e',around the stand-pipe. The space e', between the upper end of the casingd and the stand-pipe,is`adapted for the reception of asuitable packing,Which can be so placed that the lifting of the casing by the frost willnot throw out the packing, but simply slide along same in its sli ghtupward movement under the action of the frost.

f is the sewer-shell, either of circular or rectangular form, and isplaced over and surrounds the base b of the hydrant, the casingcltelescoping into the shell through an opening in the top a distancesufficient to prevent the frost from lifting the casingd clear of theshell f. An arched opening,f', admits of the exit of .the projectingport-on b2 of the base, andf2 is an opening adapted for the reception ofa pipe or tile leading to the nearest sewer, into which the waste waterfrom the stand-pipe is discharged, as will more fully hereinafterappear. In the absence of asewer ahole is made in the ground and filledwith loose stones,into which the waste water is then discharged.`

By means of the arrangement of parts just described the warm gas withwhich the sewer is filled is permittcd to pass around the base of thehydrant and up into the space esurrounding the stand-pipe, to assist inpreventing the freezing of the hydrant,

g is the Valve, preferably made of soft leather and of tapering form tofit the tapering seat bt. This Valve is mounted upon a rod, g', whichextends up through the stand-pipe to its top portion ct, where it isseated in such a manner as to be raised or lowered in the operation ofturning the water on or off. Surrounding this Valve-rod g/ is thecross-head or guide, consisting `of the collar 71,, rigidly se` cured tothe rod g' and the branches h'. The

Outer ends of the branches h' fit snugly, but loosely, against the innerwall of the standpipe, and serve, by their contact, rto hold and guidethe Valve-rod in its movements up or down. rA small orifice, af), is solocated in the ICO side Wall of the stand-pipe that when the Valve g ismoved away from the opening b3 to admit Water from the main int-o thestand-pipe the small orifice a will be closed by one of the branches h'of the cross-head. to prevent the water from esraping, as clearly shownin Fig 1; and when the valve is in closed position the cross-head willthen have moved away from the orifice (t5, thus permitting the waterremaining in the stand-pipe, after the valve is closed, to pass downinto the sewer-shell and from t-hence to the sewer or ground, asindicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. The top of the cast-iron casing d,which incloses the stand-pipe, is surrounded and covered by a cast-ironhood or cap made in two'separate and similar portions, k and k', securedtogether around the stand-pipe a by bolts k2 and nuts ki Packingl, ofany suitable description, can be placed Within this hood and between thestand-pipe and frost-shell, thereby preventing the cold air fromentering the casing. and at the same time retaining the warm air admitted' from the sewer. This hood not only holds the packing in place,but serves as a protection for the upper ends of the bolts c and thenuts c' thereon.

In one side of the annular collar or enlargelnent a3 of the stand-pipeis the vertical opening as, having the removal screw-cap a7 in its upperend. This opening is for the purpose ofadmitting steam to the space esurrounding the stand-pipe, and to the interior of the sewer-shell f,surrounding the base of the hydrant, for the purpose of thawing thehydrant when frozen.

It will be seen that in my improved construction every possibleprovision v is made to prevent the freezing of the hydrant, as with theorifice a5 in the stand pipe, in connection with the winged cross-head hh', the waste water in the stand-pipe above the valve is dischargedthrough the shell f into the sewer or ground. Through this sewer-shellthe warm gas from the sewer is allowed to pass in around the base b andstand-pipe a, thereby lessening the danger of freezing, while the coldair is prevented from entering in around the standpipe by means of theremovable hood k k' and pa'cking Z, which also prevents the gas fromescaping; andv should the hydrant by any chance become frozen up, it canbe quickly thawed out by removing the hood k k' and screW-cap a7, andpassing steam in through the passage af, where it can freely circulatearound the stand-pipe and base. The body of the hydrant can be quicklytaken out and any or all of its parts replaced without any digging beingrequired after the hydrant has once been set, and by unscrewing the nutson the holding-down bolts the hydrant can be made to face any directionindependent of the direction of the supply-pipe to the same.

I claim- 1. In a hydrant, the combination, with the stand-pipe and baseand the casing surrounding the stand-pipe, of a shell placed around thebase and connected With the sewer for the purpose of utilizing the warmgas from the sewer in preventing the freezing of thehydrant,substantially as shown and described.

2. In a hydrant, the combination, with the stand-pipe provided with adischarge-valve at its lower end and the casing surrounding thestand-pipe, of a shell Vplaced around the base and surrounding the lowerend of the frost shell or casing and connected with the sewer, wherebythe waste water in the stand-pipe may be discharged into the sewer,substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ERHARD SCHLENKER.

WVitnesses:

O. SOHMILL, W. T. MILLER.

